


Super Zero

by Donuts4Dragons (TheAlpineSea)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Animal Transformation, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Misunderstandings, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25456198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlpineSea/pseuds/Donuts4Dragons
Summary: Bellamy Blake is sick and tired of being next door neighbors with the annoyingly perfect Wells Jaha. Especially when Wells Jaha happens to be Arkadia’s number one super-hero. Really the only perks are the rare glimpses of Wells’ best friend, Clarke Griffin.But things get wild when Bellamy finds himself mixed up with one of Arcadia’s most infamous SuperVillians.Even if that SuperVillian is currently pint-sized.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & John Murphy, Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I’m a huge John Murphy fan. And a Bellamy and Murphy Bromance fan. Actually, I’m just a fan of any interactions involving John Murphy. So I enjoyed writing this.
> 
> And I’m missing Bellamy.  
> Anyways, here you go, enjoy!
> 
> Please excuse my excessive use of CAPSLOCK.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!

Everyone, no exaggerating, EVERYONE asks what it’s like to be neighbors with a superhero.

Bellamy would tell them the truth, but he knows that’s not what they want to hear. 

They want to hear about how ‘Wonder’ful Wells Jaha is. They want to hear about how he saved this cat and that burning pizza parlor. They want to hear about how he’s perfect, cape and tights and all. Wells Jaha, The Wonder. They want to hear, “Wells is so talented, keeping Arkadia safe from villains like The Neon Knuckles, Destructor and Professor Hazard!” (He just has to ask, WHO COMES UP WITH THESE NAMES? And where did these people come from?) “And he’s so kind and handsome! Such a good young man and the perfect neighbor!”

Yes, the world loves Wells the Wonder. 

But that’s because they only see newspaper headlines of Wells saving nice old ladies, putting out fires and flying into the sunset. 

The rest of the world didn’t have to share almost every single class with him, from Kindergarten on. Wells was EVEN in some of Bellamy’s college classes. 

(Can perfect grades be a superpower? Because Wells had rubbed his perfect A’s in Bellamy’s face enough times that he was sure Wells must have a supernatural advantage.)

The rest of the world hasn't been shoved together at every single social function, expected to make friends. They aren’t forced to invite each other to every birthday and graduation celebration, despite having NOTHING in common.

(Even as a kid, Wells was like an egoistical robot, always convinced HE was right, despite having no real thoughts of his own.)

The rest of the world didn’t compete on the same Junior League Soccer team. And Middle School team. And High School team.

(Why a literal SUPERHERO is allowed to play competitive sports, Bellamy has no idea.)

Truthfully, Bellamy really kinda hates Wells Jaha. 

And Bellamy doesn’t need Wells’ super-vision to see that Wells felt the same way about him. The guy made Bellamy feel like an idiotic waste of space, just with one condescending look.

Anyways, Bellamy couldn’t stand Wells the Wonder. Which is why, when a streak of yellow spandex shot from the Jaha’s house to soar above Bellamy’s head in the middle of his morning run, Bellamy glared, lifting a hand to block out the summer sun. 

The speck looped and corkscrewed through the sky like a Neon-Yellow beacon saying:

“Look at me! Wonder Boy Extraordinaire! Also let me broadcast exactly where I live because I can’t be like other Superheros and be anonymous!”

Bellamy scowled as he turned into his driveway, ignoring the newspaper sitting on the driveway with Wells’ smiling face featured on it. The main article was probably all about how Wells had defeated some radioactive monster or stopped global warming or something.

Someone else could pick it up.

Bellamy opened the front door, kicking off his running shoes and pulling up the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face.

“Bellamy, is that you?” His mom called from the kitchen.

“Yeah. I’m back.”

“Good, I have news, can you come in the kitchen for a bit?”

He ducked into the next room, where his mom was sitting at the table looking over some documents and Octavia was eating breakfast. As Bellamy moved past, he swiped a piece of bacon from Octavia’s plate.

“Mom! Bell always steals my food!” she immediately protested.

Aurora Blake looked up from her papers, giving Bellamy a small arch look.

“Aren’t you little old for that?”

Bellamy shrugged, tousling Octavia’s hair when she pouted,“What’s your news?”

Aurora laid her papers down, pinning her full attention on her children.

“Mr. Sinclair called last night. Apparently one of our larger clients is changing systems and he wants me to be part of the transition team.”

“Okay….” Octavia began.

“So I’ll be leaving this afternoon for Polis. I’ll be gone for at least eight days.”

Octavia brightened, perking up in her chair, “So we’ll be on our own.”

Aurora pinned her with a serious look.

“Bellamy is in charge, so there will be no parties.”

Octavia leaned forward, a desperate look in her eyes, “Not even—“

Aurora shook her head firmly, “Nothing.”

Octavia sank back into her chair, drooping. As Aurora stood to organize her papers, Octavia sent a begging look in Bellamy’s direction. Bellamy shook his head as well. No way was he going to try and police a rowdy bunch of teenagers while his mother was gone.

“Anyways, O, you’re leaving for camp tomorrow, it’s not like you have a lot of time to be bored.” he said.

Aurora turned towards them again.

“Speaking of which, I’ll be driving, so—“

Octavia shot back up in her chair, “Wait, you’re taking the car!? How am I supposed to get to the school? The school shuttle leaves at 3 tomorrow!”

“You can take the city bus.”

Octavia threw her head back with an annoyed groan, “I’ll have to lug around a suitcase AND my lacrosse bag! Taking the bus will be a nightmare!”

“Bellamy can go with you, to make it easier.”

Bellamy straightened himself from where he had been relaxing against the kitchen counter, “Wait, what?”

His mother gave him a sweet smile and a pat on the cheek as she walked by.

“Alright, I need to pack NOW or else I’ll never get out the door in time, so,” she looked between Bellamy and Octavia, “stay safe, don’t do anything stupid and—" then she focused on O, "Octavia? Have a good time at camp.”

She then disappeared up the stairs, leaving Bellamy and Octavia alone in the kitchen. After a couple of seconds, Octavia side-eyed him.

“Are you sure we can’t just—“

Bellamy groaned.

“No parties, O.”

She huffed, “Well, you’re not getting out of helping me with my bags tomorrow then.”

Bellamy nodded. 

“Yeah. I’ll be there.”

Octavia sighed, “Fine.” 

Then she grinned, instantly putting Bellamy on edge. That kind of expression never boded well for Bellamy. Octavia freaked him out sometimes.

“What is it?” He asked cautiously.

Octavia nodded toward the kitchen window, “Your girl-crush is out back.”

Bellamy should be ashamed at how quickly his head whipped up. But his heart was pounding too quickly for him to pay attention to why he should be embarrassed. 

Sure enough, across the fence, lounging in the Jaha’s hammock, was the one good thing about being neighbors with Wells Jaha. 

One beautiful, bright, shining reason to put up with Wonder Boy extraordinaire.

Clarke Griffin had a sketchbook laid out across her lap, a pencil pressed against her lips thoughtfully. The breeze outside gently rocked her in the hammock, toying with the ends of her bright hair.

Bellamy stared, soaking up the sight before stumbling back a step.

“I’m just going to clean up.” He mumbled, not really sure who he was even talking to.

He tore his eyes away from Clarke, who had just lowered her pencil to the page, to turn and hurry up the stairs. 

Octavia’s cackle followed him up the steps.

——

Bellamy first met Clarke Griffin at his ninth birthday party.

He’d been looking forward to it for months. His mom was going to make Triple Chocolate cake and his new friends, Monty and Jasper, were bringing squirt guns for everyone to play with.

All the kids cheered when Monty and Jasper, grinning ear-to-ear, dragged a dozen super soakers and a bucket of water balloons into the Blake’s backyard. Nine year-old Bellamy had been practically over the moon, helping the others fill up water guns with the hose.

And then, when they had all taken position for what Bellamy, Jasper and Monty had been claimed would be the battle of the decade, Wells Jaha did what he always did. Little Wells the Wonder took to the sky, flipping and corkscrewing, daring all the others to try and hit him.

So, Bellamy’s Birthday Battle Royale turned into: Wells the Wonder vs. the rest of the kids.

And as Bellamy watched all his friends chase Wells around his backyard, oohing and ahing at the super-kid’s acrobatics, Bellamy’s heart sank.

He didn’t want to be one of those spoiled kids who think EVERYTHING is about them. Because it wasn't. Years of already helping his mom with baby Octavia (because who else was going to help his mother?), taught him that the world doesn't revolve around him. There are more important things than himself. 

But a small voice in the back in Bellamy's mind asked ‘Isn’t today, just today, supposed to be MY day?’

And almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a stream of water hit Bellamy upside the head.

As Bellamy turned, wiping water off his face, he found a girl, her blond hair pulled back in a braid. She toyed with the water gun in her hand, smirking at him. He could faintly remember the girl coming in with the Jaha’s, her being introduced as Wells’ best friend. But at that moment, she stood in front of Bellamy, hip cocked and eyes sparkling.

“That’s what you get for just standing there.”

Even then, at nine years-old, Bellamy’s heart raced at the sight of her smiling face.

The corners of his mouth twitched up as he raised his super soaker in response. Then they chased each other across the yard, hollering and shooting at each other. It was only once they were both drenched that they agreed to call it a tie.

“But only because it’s your birthday.” She had said, eyes glittering under sopping wet bangs.

Then, while everyone else was crowding around a flying Wells Jaha, the two of them made a game of seeing who throw water balloons higher, splattering them against the tallest tree in the backyard. And when Bellamy managed to hit the tallest branch, Clarke had nudged him, eyes wide, a gleeful smile.

“That was an amazing shot!”

And Bellamy felt like the coolest kid in the world.

After the kids finally gathered back together to the siren-call of birthday cake, the two of them sat on the edge of the porch, feet dangling, plates of Triple Chocolate cake in hand as they watched Moths dart around them and they talked about soccer and teachers and favorite animals and rollercoasters. Then they darted around the backyard, trying to catch fireflies. And she wasn't bothered when Bellamy was able to catch more, not like Octavia would be.

When Clarke finally left that day, Wells tugging her by the hand out the door into the summer night, the buzz of cicadas in the air, she sent Bellamy a smile, one that made it seem like he was the only person in the room.

And, now, even twelve years later, Clarke Griffin’s smile made his stomach flip, took him back to being nine, tossing water balloons in the backyard. 

Bellamy hurriedly ran a towel over his wet hair, yanking on the first pair of decent pants he found. He grabbed a soccer tee from High School, old enough to not quite fit comfortably over his shoulders anymore. But clean, he thought, sending a frustrated glance at his over-flowing laundry basket. The old soccer shirt would have to do. 

Since Clarke was best friends with Wells Jaha, Bellamy got to see her often, got to wave at her as she drove by, caught glimpses of her throwing her head back in laughter as she walked with friends on the sidewalk.

But that also meant that her and Wells were practically attached to the hip. So, even though he got to see her on a regular basis, there hadn't been a chance to spend time with just HER in years.

Bellamy gave a skeptical glance in the mirror at his wet hair before turning to leave his room, tripping over the clothes that he had thrown on the floor in his rush to get in the shower. Bellamy raced down the stairs, feet pounding against the wood as he hurried towards the back door.

‘Please still be there-‘, He thought to himself, ‘please still be there-please still be there- please-‘

He stopped at the back door, taking a deep breath before turning the knob.

And there she was. Across the fence, sketchbook still in her hands, Clarke was biting her lip as she studied the page in front of her. She had headphones in, a foot dangling off the hammock bouncing in time with music Bellamy couldn’t hear. The sun glinted off her hair, making each strand glow. Upon noticing how her pink-tinged cheeks matched the color of the lip caught between her teeth, Bellamy finally jerked his attention away.

Instead, he made his way over to the garden shed, making as much noise as possible as he dragged the ancient lawnmower out. The grass didn't really need to be cut, but it seemed as good of an excuse as any to be in the backyard. Pushing aside the temptation to look over at Clarke, he focused on steering the lawnmower to the edge of the lawn. It wasn’t until he’d dragged the lawn mower into position that he finally heard it.

“Hey, Bellamy.”

He turned to find that Clarke had gotten up from the hammock and was now leaning against the fence, an easy smile on her lips, blue eyes resting on him.

“Long-time no see.”

Bellamy returned the smile, hoping he didn’t look too awestruck.

“Hey, Clarke.”

Her eyes sparkled just as brightly as they did twelve years ago.

“It’s good to see you. What have you been up to? Besides mowing the lawn, I mean.” She said nodding towards the hunk of metal sitting on the grass.

Bellamy’s hand reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously, eyes falling down to the flowerbeds at his feet, “Not much. Hanging out and working. I’ve been waiting tables weeknights. At least, until college starts back up again." His gaze darted back up to Clarke, "You?”

She leaned further into the fence, relaxed in contrast with Bellamy's fidgeting, “I’ve been lazing around mostly, napping, drawing. Oh and volunteering at a Children’s Art Program.”

In his mind’s eye, Bellamy imagined Clarke sitting at a short table, surrounded by paints and curious kids. It was perfect.

“I’m sure you’re great at it.” He sighed.

And then Bellamy paused, hoping the tone of his voice didn’t reveal too much. But Clarke just beamed.

“I don’t know about that, but spending time with the kids is fun. I mean, crazy. Somehow there's always a kid that gets glue in their hair when I'm trying to stop another from eating the crayons. But it's still fun.” Clarke’s gaze darted down to the lawnmower. “I don’t mean to distract you, I can—“

“No!” Bellamy blurted out. And then instantly regretted the desperate outburst. Trying again, he continued, “No. It’s not a problem at all, I enjoy talking to you.”

She smiled again, "Me too." 

Then she laughed, realizing how that sounded. "I mean talking to YOU. I promise I don't talk to myself."

Bellamy took a second to reply, still awestruck by the way Clarke's nose scrunched up when she laughed.

After a moment of silence, Clarke added, "At least, not TOO much."

Bellamy finally broke from his stupor to reply, "Well, who else do you talk to that has actual sense?."

Clarke's smile widened.

"So true." Her eyes fell down to his shirt for a moment. "Hey, I was actually thinking of getting a group together to--"

Then, over Clarke’s shoulder, in the cloudless sky, Bellamy could see movement. And his heart dropped. 

Here comes Wonderboy, Bellamy thought, just as he was finally able to TALK to Clarke for once.

And then his brows furrowed as the speck grew in size. There was no yellow spandex. No gratuitous corkscrews and loops. And were those wings?

Bellamy interrupted Clarke, concerned, “Clarke, do you—“

She turned to see what was bothering Bellamy.

And then, Bellamy realized that what-ever-it-was, it was approaching much more quickly than he had thought.

With a shout, Bellamy’s arm shot over the fence to thrust Clarke down and away, and then he immediately ducked. Just in time for something to speed past right where Bellamy’s face had been. Gaping, he straightened back up, searching for Clarke.

“Clarke! Clarke! Are you alright?”

She stared up, wide-eyed, from where he had pushed her into the grass.

“What was that?!”

Bellamy turned to find the THING turning mid-air to head back their direction.

“Clarke, run, run inside—“

But Bellamy had only just got the words out when the thing swooped down to land on the fence next to them, giving them their first good look at it.

There, a couple feet from them, glaring and furious, was a Blue-Green Lizard. 

At least, a kinda lizard thing, with leathery wings and a long snout. And what looked like tiny horns on top of it’s skull. If Bellamy didn’t know better he’d say it was a dragon. 

But Dragons aren’t seven-inches tall.

The little creature lunged at them, bright orange eyes flashing, sending Bellamy and Clarke stumbling backwards.

And then it opened it’s toothy mouth and SPOKE.

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS JAHA! IF IT’S THE LAST THING I DO!”

Even in his shock, Bellamy’s hand sought out Clarke’s shoulder next to him. Then the Lizard-Thing pulled to a stop, its fury turning to bewilderment at the two baffled people in front of it.

“Wait, YOU’RE not Wondertwerp.”

The THING swung its head between the two of them in confusion for a moment before tensing up again.

“AH! ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE HIM FROM ME? THE COWARD!”

It hopped onto a fence post, little claws digging into the wood, “HAHA, YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD FOOL ME, DIDN’T YOU?”

The little lizard swung its arms around impressively, or at least as impressively as a tiny winged lizard can. 

Clarke leaned over, her previously worried expression completely gone, “Wow, I didn’t know lizards could do that.”

Bellamy glanced over at an amused Clarke, “You mean talk?”

She arched an eyebrow in Bellamy’s direction, “You call that squeaking talking?”

The creature froze mid-gesture. Leaning forward slightly, eyes drilling into Bellamy, the lizard demanded, “You can hear me?”

Bellamy turned to Clarke in confusion. She couldn’t hear what the THING was saying? Was it just Bellamy?

Octavia’s voice came up behind them, “What is that? It’s so adorable!”

The Lizard reared up, nostrils flaring. “ADORABLE!? ADORABLE!? WILL YOU THINK IT’S ADORABLE WHEN I TEAR YOUR BRAIDS OFF!!!!!!!!??? YOU DARE SAY THAT TO ME?”

The lizard lunged towards Octavia with a cute squeaky growl. She pulled back, laughing. 

“I think it was about to bite me!”

Bellamy reached over to pull Octavia away from the fence.

“Octavia, stay away.”

The lizard-thing pulled itself upright, still glaring at Octavia.

“Yeah, keep her away from me.” Then it turned its gaze back to Bellamy. “If you’re trying to hide Wondertwerp from me, just know I’ll find him sooner or later. And HE’LL PAY.”

And with that, the creature pumped its wings a couple times and shot into the sky.

The three of them watched it fly into the sky, a blur of wings and scales.

“Well, that was weird.” Octavia said.

Clarke shook her head, “You can say that again.”

——

The next day, Bellamy hopped off the bus, coming back from dropping Octavia off for lacrosse camp. And his shoes landed right in a puddle of water.

He swore, shaking his feet, immediately grateful he was wearing sandals. Between having to drag around a grumpy Octavia this morning, yesterday’s conversation with Clarke being interrupted by that hostile talking lizard-thing, wet feet just felt like another insult. Taking a seat on the Bus Station’s bench, he shook out the water pooling in the divots of his sandals.

A meow came from right next to him. Smiling despite his overall bad mood, he turned to see a black and white cat crouched on ground next to the bench.

“Hey.” Bellamy called out softly, “Did you come to say hi?”

The cat blinked up at him, big eyes focused on him.

Looking down at the cat made Bellamy remember the strays he used to bring home when he was little. Sadly his mom was allergic to fur, but between the two of them, they always managed to find each pet another good home.

Bellamy reached a cautious hand down.

“Where’d you come from, huh?”

A loud, feminine squeal from across the street sent the cat running, disappearing around the corner. Bellamy sighed, watching it go. He slipped his wet sandals back on, heading across the street towards the entrance to his neighborhood, feeling like there was a grey cloud hanging over his head.

Hawthorne Hills wasn’t always a gated community, but, as Wells the Wonder became more and more famous, they added the fence, cameras and a guard 24/7 sitting in the entrance booth. Part of Bellamy wished the Jahas would just MOVE, but that would also mean not seeing Clarke on a regular basis. Which Bellamy did NOT like. As he approached the gate, Bellamy could see a group of young women gathering across the street. They were murmuring excitedly to each other and bouncing on the balls of their feet to glance over the fence.

One of the girls, her hair in the highest ponytail Bellamy had ever seen, was saying,“He lives here, I’m telling you!”

A Brunette gave her a skeptical look, “I’m not buying it, Trina.”

Ponytailed-Trina whirled on the Brunette, pose defensive, “No, he really does, my cousin went to school with him and got to go to a party at his house.”

Another girl gushed, “Oh my gosh! I wish I could go to a party with Wells!”

Bellamy had finally reached the gate, which was completely blocked by the peeping girls. He tried to sidle past.

“Excuse me.”

Almost in unison, the girls all turned to stare at Bellamy. And then they proceeded to bombard him with questions.

“Does Wells the Wonder live here?”

“Do you know him?”

“Can we see him from here?”

“Are you friends with Wells?”

“Can we meet Wells?”

A hand reached out to lightly tug at Bellamy’s collar.

“Hey, you’re kinda cute.” The Brunette smirked at him.

And then Trina shoved the Brunette to the side to grab ahold of Bellamy’s shirt.

“Where’s Wells?!”

Bellamy stammered, trying to find an escape route. But he was closed in on all sides by hysterical young women.

“Alright ladies, I’m going to have to ask you all to leave.”

Bellamy’s relieved gaze found Pike, the neighborhood’s daytime guard. Pike was standing just outside the open door of the front gate’s booth, firm look on his face.

The girls looked Pike up and down, unimpressed.

Pike sighed.

“Please let the young man go and leave before I call the police.”

The girls tensed at the word ‘police’. They hurried away, murmuring apologies as they left, except the Brunette, who sent Bellamy a wink as she sauntered away.

Pike came up to stand next to him, “I swear that’s been happening more and more often lately.”

“Have they always been so intense?” Bellamy asked, watching the group go.

Pike let loose a chuckle and clapped a hand on Bellamy’s shoulder.

“Can’t say I blame them though. Our resident Super-Hero’s quite a guy.”

Bellamy just sighed in response, finally heading for the front gate.

“Thanks for the help, Pike.”  


Pike waved him off, a bright smile on his face.

“Have a good evening, kid.”

Bellamy headed straight for his house, hoping the rest of the day would be better than the first half.

Upon reaching the driveway, he stooped down to grab the newspaper. And one of the headlines caught his attention.

_‘A ‘Wonder’ful Match?_

_See pictures of THE WONDER, Wells Jaha on his most recent outing with rumored girlfriend, Clarke Griffin, which show the two getting cozier! Is there romance in the works?’_

And right under the large letters was a picture of Clarke and Wells, practically sitting in each other’s lap on a park bench. They had ice cream cones in hand, smiling brightly at each other.

Scowling, Bellamy turned around and immediately tossed the newspaper into the trashcan waiting at the curb. Then he turned away to stalk into the house.

Amazingly enough, he was in an even worse mood than before. 

He opened the front door, angrily kicking off his sandals. He growled as he slammed the door shut.

And then froze when he heard a noise coming from inside the house. 

Bellamy’s ears perked up, the rest of his body motionless. And a couple seconds later, he heard another slight thump from the kitchen.

Adrenaline began rushing through his veins.

His mother was in Polis. He literally just dropped his sister off for lacrosse camp.

There should be nobody else in the house.

Bellamy’s heartbeat sped up as he quietly moved forward. He followed the noise to the kitchen. Bellamy peered around the corner slowly.

The fridge was open, blocking Bellamy’s view of the person rummaging inside. 

Bellamy grabbed the first thing he could reach to protect himself and dashed forward to snatch at whoever was looking through his fridge.

But Bellamy’s hand closed around empty air.

There was no one there.

And the momentum of running forward brought the top of the fridge into direct contact with Bellamy’s forehead.

And hitting his head against the fridge sent Bellamy sprawling out onto the floor.

Bellamy laid, spread out on the ground, in shock.

“Wow, dinner and a show.”

Bellamy jerked his head up, groaning when the sudden motion made his head spin.

And there, on the top shelf of the open fridge was a crumb-covered winged lizard, lounging next to a half-eaten cake. The lizard snorted, orange eyes glimmering.

“Were you going to attack me with that?” It nodded towards the banana Bellamy was still clutching in his hand. 

Bellamy groaned, letting go of the banana to bring a hand up to his throbbing head, “I think I’ve got a concussion.”

Which would explain why the ground seemed to moved underneath him. But it didn’t explain the talking lizard.

The blue-green lizard shrugged and shoved another clawful of cake into its mouth.

“It’s your own fault,” It said, crumbs spewing out of its mouth as it talked, “You should know better than to run head-on into kitchen appliances. This cake is delicious by the way, compliments to the chef.”

Bellamy glared at the creature, barely able to see through the building pain.

“Why are you here? You’re trespassing you know. And stealing our food.”

The lizard turned to inspect a bottle of Octavia’s favorite soda.

“I’ve decided to base my operations from here for now.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Bellamy gaped.

The lizard wrapped its claws around the bottle cap, grunting as it attempted to twist the cap off, “It means I'll be working from this building, it’ll make everything easier for me. This way I can check on my nemesis better.“

Bellamy, still dazed, mouthed the word ‘nemesis’ to himself.

It paused in the middle of its efforts to turn the bottle cap to give Bellamy a disgruntled look, “And you’re the only one that can hear me. So working together is the best way to get me back to normal.”

Bellamy grimaced at the reminder that he was the only one hearing voices, little-lizard voices. But he disregarded the thought for a moment to respond.

“Yeah, too bad, it’s not happening. Leave.”

“Well, I’m not leaving until I’m normal again. So, if you want to get rid me of sooner rather than later, then you might as well assist me.”

Bellamy pulled himself off of the ground with a derisive snort.

“Just get out of MY house.”

The lizard gave up trying to open the bottle with a sigh.

“Look, I know that WonderTwerp has something to do with all of this, I’m just staying long enough to find out what that is. I’ll be out of your hair soon enough. If you want to make that go by faster, then you should help me.” The lizard paused for a moment. “You could start helping by opening this bottle.”

Bellamy reached forward, but instead of grabbing the soda bottle, he wrapped a firm hand around the talking lizard. Who immediately protested. It pushed against Bellamy's grip, expression indignant. Bellamy ignored it and began heading to the back door.

“HOW DARE YOU! UNHAND ME, YOU GIANT TURD!”

Bellamy yelped as little claws scraped over his knuckles. Instantly blood welled up, drops running across the back of his hand.

“Stop that!” Bellamy snapped.

The dragon writhed in Bellamy’s grip.

“LET ME GO, YOU HEATHEN!”

Bellamy reached his unbloody hand towards the door handle and yanked it open.

“Here you go!” Bellamy tossed the lizard toward the edge of the porch, “Don’t come back!”

And then he slammed the door shut and locked it.

Bellamy sighed as he went to the sink to wash his injured hand. Watching the water turn pink as it ran over his fingers, he considered the last two days.

Could hearing mutant animals talk be a sign of insanity? Is this something he should talk to a doctor about? 

In a world where Super-Villains and radioactive monsters were the norm, is it really that strange that Bellamy can hear weird creatures talk? 

Bellamy grimaced at the thought, instantly knowing the answer.

Yes, hearing creatures talk is a bad thing.

Supernatural stuff didn’t happen to people like Bellamy, it happened to people like Wells Jaha. Someone with an actual connection to that part of the world. Someone who was born into it, with freaky powers. Not everyday citizens like Bellamy Blake.

Something was seriously wrong with Bellamy Blake.

In the middle of contemplating getting psychiatric help, he heard a bang coming from the living room.

He whirled around to see a cloud of ash enter the kitchen. Bellamy threw an arm over his face to keep ash from getting into his eyes. And started to cough and hack when the murky air entered his lungs.

A booming voice filled the kitchen. 

“DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE DEALING WITH? A LOCKED DOOR WON’T STOP THE DESTRUCTOR!”

The Destructor?

Bellamy lowered his arm, still coughing, to look at the seven-inch figure in front of him. The lizard was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, covered in ash. Blue-green scales peeked out here and there. It was glaring at Bellamy, little chest heaving.

As Bellamy stared at the furious creature, he thought back to what it just said.

The Destructor.

The Destructor was one of Arkadia’s more infamous Super-Villains. Infamous, not because of any particularly heinous crime, but for Destructor’s more unique handiwork. Like breaking into banks to exchange vaults of money for piles of dildos. Or blowing up a statue of Wells the Wonder using explosives that smelled worse than any fart could. (That particular act made Bellamy’s day when it happened) Everyone knew who The Destructor was, seeing how often his work ended up on the front page of the newspaper.

But there’s no way The Destructor was a little winged-lizard. Impossible, really.

Bellamy arched an eyebrow, “Since when was The Destructor a lizard-thing?”

The puffed up creature deflated at Bellamy’s words, turning its glower to the floor.

“Since yesterday morning. I woke up and I wasn’t human anymore.”

Bellamy blinked at the lizard, unsure whether or not to believe it.

“Wait, so you’re really The Destructor then?”

A slight smirk returned to the creature’s expression.

“In the flesh.” Then it winced. “Well, not in my normal flesh though. I promise I'm much more handsome usually.”

Bellamy stared at the supposed Super-Villain for a second longer, baffled.

And then he finally noticed the ash COVERING the floor of the kitchen and living room.

“What did you do to the floor?!”

The lizard shrugged, “You guys should clean your chimney more often. Or at least not literally THROW me out the door. Horrifying manners, really.”

Bellamy glared at it, contemplating grabbing the little scaly-creature and tossing him out the back again. But then Bellamy shied away from possibly getting on the bad side of a supposed Super-Villain. Throwing villains out of doors would be a bad idea. Also, it wasn’t like Bellamy could stop it from coming right back inside. Can you even close a chimney?

As if reading his thoughts (maybe it actually COULD read minds. Super-Villains can sometimes do stuff like, right?), the lizard huffed, “I wouldn’t try grabbing me again. I’ll just be right back, and this time,” the creature flashed its tiny, but sharp, claws, “you’ll regret it.”

Bellamy’s lip curled in distaste, but knew better than to disregard the creature’s words. But then Bellamy smirked.

“What do I even call you? Destructor? Dezy?”

The little lizard whipped around wings suddenly whipping out.

“Dezy?!”

Bellamy snorted, “What, you don’t like it, Dezy?”

The lizard’s nostrils flared before it growled out, “Call me that one more time, I DARE YOU.”

“Well, I’m not calling you Destructor. What kind of name is that, anyways?”

The lizard suddenly found the floor much more interesting again, “It’s scarier than my real name.”

“What’s your real name?”

The lizard’s bright orange eyes glared at him before mumbling, “John. John Murphy.”

Bellamy scoffed. 

“Ok, I see why you made the change.”

“If you’re not going to call me Destructor, then you might as well call me Murphy.”

“Not John?”

The lizard sent him an unimpressed look.

“Murphy it is.”

“Now that we’ve got my name settled," Murphy rolled his little eyes," we need to work on getting me back to human. And then taking revenge on Jaha.” At those last words, Murphy clapped his hands together, expression positively radiant at the thought. "I'm thinking we use Excrement. Lots of excrement."

Bellamy sighed in frustration.

“Ok, three things. One, please stop saying the word excrement. Two, I never agreed to be a part of this—“

Murphy’s mouth opened to respond but Bellamy continued before he could interrupt.

“And Three, what reason would Wells Jaha have for transforming you?”

“Because he’s my NEMESIS.” Murphy replied, giving him a ‘are you stupid’ look.

Bellamy rubbed at his face, suddenly feeling sooo tired. “Look, I don’t even like the guy and I still know he wouldn’t turn you into… whatever you are.”

“No matter WHO turned me into THIS,” Murphy lifted a tiny scaled fist to cough ‘Wells Jaha” into it before continuing. “We need to figure out how to make me human. And I say WE because you’re the only one who can understand me. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

Then Murphy fixed him with a resolute look.

“So, I’m really the only one that can hear you talk?” Bellamy ventured.

Murphy gave a short nod.

“Why?”

The lizard snorted and then shrugged, wings bouncing with the motion.

“No idea, not important.”

Bellamy stared at Murphy for a moment, considering one last time the possibility of insanity before deciding to just embrace the situation. 

“OK, what do you remember from when you were transformed?”

“I was downtown by the old theater doing some… surveillance.” Bellamy shot Murphy a dubious look, sure 'surveillance' really meant something somewhat illegal. But the lizard ignored him, continuing with his story. “And I was in the middle of scoping out this alley and then, everything went dark.” He shrugged. “I don’t remember anything else that night. Then, yesterday morning, I woke up in Kane’s Park and I was like” Murphy gestured to his tiny scaled body, frustrated, “this.”

“And then you showed up at Jaha’s?”

“Yep.”

“Can you think of anyone that might have it out for you?”

Murphy opened his mouth to reply, but Bellamy cut him off.

“BESIDES Wells?”

Murphy glowered at him for a moment before toeing at the ashy floor.

“Not really. I mean, I don’t really make friends everywhere I go,” Bellamy murmured a sarcastic ‘you don’t say’ under his breath, “but I don’t have any real enemies besides Wondertwerp over there.” With those words, Murphy jerked his chin towards the house next door.

“Ok, if I were to help, and I mean IF,” Bellamy took in a steadying breath before continuing, “I could pass by downtown and check out the two places you mentioned, for evidence on what happened to you that night.”

Murphy’s wings perked up and his eyes glimmered.

“What are we waiting for?”

“What- I- alright, First of all, I’m not going downtown now, it’s already dark, Second of all, I still haven’t agreed to anything yet, and THIRD of all, there’s no WE, especially when you look like-- THAT.” Bellamy threw a hand in Murphy’s direction.

“What do you mean there’s no WE, there’s no way I’m trusting YOU to actually get any investigating done without my help!” Murphy exclaimed, his thin tail writhing behind him. “Of course I’m coming!”

Bellamy ran a hand through his hair, exasperated, “Poking around downtown with a little dragon-thing is hardly staying out of attention.”

Murphy stilled; tail, claws and wings coming to a complete halt.

“That’s true.”

“Right, so it’s decided, you won’t be coming.”

Murphy’s gaze momentarily focused on something behind Bellamy before brightening.

“Actually, I have a solution.”

“What-“

Murphy waved a claw dismissively, smirk in place, “Don’t worry about it, Everything will be ready by tomorrow morning.”

And with that, Murphy whirled around, waddling towards the stairs, tail dragging behind him, leaving tiny three-toed footprints and a trailing line in the ash.

“Now, show me where I’ll be sleeping tonight.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I said this was going to be only two chapters, but this chapter was running way too long, so I cut the story into three. I'm almost done with the last one, so expect the third chapter soon!

Bellamy groaned as sun hit his eyes upon opening the front door. It was 7:30 am, Bellamy’s usual time for a morning run. But this morning seemed especially early.

Probably because Bellamy had spent half the night cleaning ash off all the living room and kitchen surfaces. Thankfully, the ground floor’s all hardwood, not carpet, but it still took hours and multiple containers of Swiffer cloths.

When he finally fell into bed last night, Bellamy wanted to punt Murphy’s scaly little butt over a cliff.

A few hours of sleep didn’t really improve his mood at all.

After a couple quick stretches, Bellamy set off at a jog, eyes still blinking blearily. Birds darted above his head, chirping to each other.

“Stop being so cheery.” He grumbled.

The birds’ chattering disappeared, only to be replaced by something much worse.

“Hey, Bellamy.”

Recognizing the voice calling his name, Bellamy was tempted to not look over. Because next to him, his lazy float matching Bellamy’s slow jog, was Wonderboy himself.

The yellow spandex-sporting Wells lounged in the morning air, mouth sporting that same easy smile that the newspapers loved.

Bellamy just nodded, responding with a curt, “Hi.”, hoping Wells would leave him alone.

No such luck.

“So, I was just helping out with the fire at Sydney’s Sweets earlier,” Bellamy pushed down the temptation to roll his eyes. It was just like wells to begin a conversation with a humble-brag, “and I realized I never thanked your mom for the cake she dropped by last week. I haven’t seen her around, so I was wondering if you could thank her for me?”

Bellamy stared at Wells. The guy, really really was annoying (Like REALLY annoying), but could he really be the type of person to turn Murphy into some pseudo-dragon-thing?

“Sure, I’ll tell her.”

Wells’ dark eyes crinkled at the corners as his smile got even BIGGER. (how was that even possible? The guy was like a cheshire cat.)

“Thanks, I’ll see you around, alright?”

And with that Wells zoomed off, a bright yellow blur leaving Bellamy in the dust.

——

After he finished jogging, Bellamy headed upstairs, wiping sweat off his forehead. He paused by the guest bedroom, where Murphy had slept last night. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door to check in.

“Come in. The door’s not locked.”

Opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of his old backpack, the microwave, and a desk lamp in pieces on the floor.

“What is this?!”

“Genius at work.” Murphy said without even raising his little head. Instead, he was focused on shoving wires into the grey backpack.

“You can’t just take my things apart!”

Murphy waved him off, “I’ll pay you back the next time I hit up a bank.”

Bellamy snatched up what was left of the desk lamp, ignoring Murphy’s protests of ‘Hey, I wasn’t done with that!’.

“I don’t want your stolen money! I want you to put the microwave back together!”

Murphy sighed, “Look, like you said last night, I can’t just go wandering around downtown covered in scales. So, I’m building a way to get around that.”

Bellamy eyed the mess in front of him skeptically, “What is it supposed to be?”

Murphy tugged at the backpack, “It’s basically a portable lair.”

“Wait, villains actually have lairs? I thought that wasn’t real.”

Murphy didn’t even bother acknowledging Bellamy’s comment.

“With this, you can just wear the backpack downtown and I can hang out inside. It’s got four exterior cameras, so I can see what’s going on. There’s A/C, so I don’t die and a light, because there’s no way I’m just sitting in the dark for hours on end. And a basic computer, snacks, etc.”

Bellamy glanced back down at his old backpack, suddenly noticing a tiny camera lens in the center of the letter ‘O’ of the logo. “Huh, that’s actually— wait, did you say a computer?”

Murphy continued, “I’ve even put a few little tricks in there. Never know if you might need it.”

“So you’re like a technological genius?”

Murphy smirked, “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”

Bellamy chuckled, shaking his head.

“I should’ve known you were just a salty nerd.”

Murphy whipped around, wire pointed menacingly at Bellamy.

“Okay, First thing, you don’t know me at all, otherwise you would never use the words ‘nerd’ and me in the same sentence, and, Second of all, you’re one to talk.” Murphy gestured to the far wall. “Don’t think I haven’t seen the walls COVERED in mythology books in your room. We all know who the real nerd is.”

Bellamy sputtered, “It’s part of my major studies,” Murphy mumbled ‘Like I said, nerd’ before Bellamy could continue, “And when did you go in my room?”

Murphy shrugged, grabbing at a nearby cord and returning his focus to his invention instead of answering the question.

“I’m definitely no nerd. I’m more of a scavenger than anything. It’s all part of survival. One man’s junk is The Destructor’s treasure. You should see what I can come up with when I have more time. And actual materials. You’d have a hard time meeting my equal. Well, except for Dark Raven,” he said, referring to a famous Super-Hero a few cities over. “Her technology’s like art.”

“I still annoyed you’ve been taking apart my things.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll be happy about it when we head out today. I’ll be done in a half hour. And I’ll be wanting breakfast.”

Bellamy glared at him, but Murphy was focused again on his ‘portable lair’, so he decided it was just better to leave.

——

“So here’s where you woke up the other day?”

Murphy’s voice echoed out from the backpack slung over Bellamy’s shoulders, “ _Yep, I wouldn’t recommend sleeping there. My back was killing me in the morning. I’ll be leaving a bad review on Yelp_.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes before bending down to look at the mossy ground.

Kane’s Park was pretty large, covering a several block’s worth of space downtown. The Park was made up mostly of open grassy spaces, with some statues and picnic tables here and there. But this part of the park was filled with shade trees, making the ground extra muddy and littered with leaves and roots.

Bellamy scanned the area, searching for clues about what happened to Murphy. He was hoping for some forgotten item (Which there was not) or maybe suspicious footprints (who was he kidding, there were footprints everywhere, it’s a PARK).

“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be looking for.”

Murphy snorted, “ _So much for your great idea, what were you expecting_?”

“I mean, we still have that alley to check out,” Bellamy defended himself, feeling a bit awkward squatting in a park, talking to his backpack, “but I was thinking it’d be a bit more obvious.”

“ _Or maybe you’re just too stupid. Did you think they’d leave a map_?”

“You’re the one with a brain literally the size of a peanut.”

“ _Does that make you feel better, to know that my ‘tiny’ brain is still better than yours_?” Murphy retaliated.

Bellamy stood suddenly, deciding to give up on finding anything in the park, “Ok, wait a second, that’s something that legitimately confuses me. Wouldn’t shrinking you also shrink your brain capacity?”

“ _Yeah, truthfully I don’t get that either_ ,” Murphy’s voice admitted, “ _but I’ve kinda been in a general state of confusion since I woke up as a freaking dragon_.”

“Speaking of which, I was wondering, can you breathe fire? You know, since you’re like a dragon?”

Murphy was quiet for a thoughtful second before responding, “ _You know what? I have no idea, I haven’t tried_.”

Then Bellamy heard the sound of the backpack’s zipper coming undone.

“What are you doing?” Bellamy asked, panicked.

“I’m going to try breathing fire. And I can’t exactly do that inside a backpack.”

“Someone might see you.” Bellamy hissed.

“Me finding out if I can breathe fire is kinda taking priority over people seeing me for a second.” Murphy shot from the backpack, wings flapping. He flew up onto a tree branch.

The creature grinned, teeth gleaming, “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay hidden up here the whole time.”

Bellamy just glared helplessly as Murphy twisted his body around, still smirking.

“Any ideas on how to summon fire?” Murphy asked mid-stretch, “I’m open to suggestions, no matter how stupid they’re sure to be.”

Bellamy sighed, rubbing a hand down his face in frustration before giving in.

“Well, fires need a spark right? And sparks require friction, so is there, like, a spot in your throat that’s—“

“Shut up for a second, I need to think.”

Bellamy glared at him again. HE was the one that asked Bellamy for suggestions.

Murphy’s expression suddenly brightened.

“Oh— I think— I think maybe—Let me try—“

Murphy’s eyes glimmered in the shade of trees, a giddy excitement overtaking his scaly body. Bellamy watched him, both anticipating and dreading the prospect of Murphy breathing fire. Murphy’s little chest expanded and his wings were spread wide.

Then Murphy loosed a horrifyingly loud burp.

The winged-lizard patted his belly, “Okay, yeah that wasn’t it.”

Bellamy’s impending laughter was cut short by the sound of someone rushing their direction.

Bellamy’s widened at Murphy, panicked.

“Hide! Now!”

Murphy swooped down to the backpack, rushing to close the zipper behind him.

Bellamy whirled around to meet the person approaching them, heart racing. Could they have seen Murphy? Was it just a random observer or maybe someone sent to watch them?

A tense moment later, a fluffy dog burst through the trees.

Both Bellamy and Murphy heaved a sigh of relief.

Bellamy smiled at it, beyond happy it wasn’t an actual human, beckoning the animal over, “Come, come here, buddy.”

The dog immediately bounded over and gave Bellamy’s hand a happy lick.

“ _Isn’t that just disgustingly adorable?_ ” Murphy drawled. “ _You better wash your hands before you come anywhere near me_.”

“Shut up, Murphy.”

“Bellamy?”

Bellamy looked up to see Clarke—Clarke!!!!— approaching them, smile already playing across her lips. He immediately shot up, spine ramrod straight, the backpack bouncing on his shoulders from the movement.

“Clarke!”

Bellamy winced as his voice came out too loudly. He could hear Murphy snickering from inside the backpack, before asking, “ _Isn’t that the girl from the other day_?”

Clarke came to stand in front of him, hair pulled over her shoulder in an intricate braid and her blue eyes somehow matching in tone with her deep green tee.

“Sorry if Picasso’s bothering you.”

“Picasso?” Bellamy asked, unsure what was going on.

Clarke chuckled, gesturing to the dog, who was now very interested in Bellamy’s backpack, probably smelling Murphy.

“Picasso’s my dad’s dog, I borrowed him for a walk today.”

“ _Is she stalking you_?” Murphy asked, “‘ _Cause this is twice I’ve seen her_.”

Bellamy ignored Murphy, infinitely glad that Clarke couldn’t hear him.

“No, no, he’s not bothering me at all, Picasso’s seems sweet.”

Clarke smiled, the sunlight filtering through the trees making her braided hair shine.

“So, what are you doing downtown?” She asked.

“Oh, I’m just here for- class.” Bellamy stuttered out the first excuse that came to mind, not ready to tell her that he’s been investigating supernatural crime along with his scaly super-villain companion(that only he could hear), “I’m taking a shortcut through the park.”

“Classes?… In the middle of the summer?” Clarke raised a brow, confused.

“Oh, um, I’m not actually GOING to class, I’m just-“ Bellamy’s thoughts raced, “I’m checking out where my classes for next semester will be. Yeah, ‘cause, you know, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for the first week of school. It’s easy to get lost on campus.” As soon as the words left Bellamy’s mouth, he cringed. He sounded like some nervous Freshman, as if he hadn’t been attending Arkadia State for three years now. And he hadn’t even signed up for Fall courses yet.

“ _You could’ve just said you had class_.” Murphy’s voice drawled from the backpack. “ _Summer classes are a real thing_.”

But Clarke just smiled, like what Bellamy said was totally normal for a college Senior to say. “Do you mind if I join?”

Murphy protested immediately, “ _Dude, no, We’re investigating, we’re going to the alley next, remember_?”

Bellamy hesitated, trying his hardest to come up with a decent enough excuse.

“ _She can’t come_.” Murphy continued, “ _Tell her to jump in a river or something_.”

“Uh…” Bellamy’s thoughts ran short meeting Clarke’s brilliant blue eyes, “Sure, you can come.”

Murphy groaned in frustration, “ _Yeah, have the chick join us as we check out your NON-EXISTENT classes. It’ll be great_.”

Clarke beamed at Bellamy’s invitation.

“Great, just let me get Picasso on a leash. I hope you don’t mind if we drop him off at my dad’s apartment on the way.”

She sped off towards the dog, who had moved onto marking the nearby trees. One unzipping sound later, and Murphy had his little head poking out of the backpack.

“Why is it that you are always saying no to me, about EVERYTHING, when all it takes is a few words from her and you’re like putty?” Murphy’s eyes narrowed. “Is it because her face is prettier than mine? Or am I just not your type? Should I dye my hair blonde?”

Bellamy could feel his face start to flush.

“It’s not like that.”

Murphy snorted, “Oh yeah, it’s definitely not like that. I’ve seen you two together for like a minute total, and I already know you want to have her childr—“

“Shut it. She has a boyfriend.”

“Really?” Murphy asked, suddenly gleeful. “Well, that makes things more interesting.”

Bellamy shoved Murphy back into the backpack as Clarke came back to join them, Picasso successfully on a leash.

“Alright, we’re ready to go.” She said.

——

“So, you’ve never actually told me what you’re studying?” Clarke asked as they walked to her father’s place.

“I’m majoring in Classics.”

She turned to him, surprise evident, “Really?”

He laughed, “Is it really so shocking?”

She shook her head and then changed it to an indecisive side-to-side movement.

“I mean, I don’t really know what I was expecting otherwise, but it wasn’t Classics.” She admitted. “What made you decide to study Dead Greek and Roman people?”

Murphy interjected, his voice muffled by the fabric of the backpack, “ _She doesn’t know that you’re a nerd yet? How’d you manage to keep that a secret_?”

Bellamy ignored him to answer Clarke’s question.

“Because of my mom’s work, it usually took her a while for her to pick me and my sister up from school. The Middle School librarian would always let us wait in the Library. I ended up reading half of their book collection, but my favorite books were always the mythology ones.”

Bellamy smiled at the memory, at the feeling of settling into a library beanbag, worn copy of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths in hand.

“Even when I was in 6th grade, I remember how mind-blowing it was to realize that an entire civilization believed in all these Gods and Goddess, in an entire religion that no longer exists. And their beliefs were so different, but so similar to modern religion. Like the very character of their deities in comparison to Judeo-Christian—“

Bellamy suddenly quietened, realizing he was getting off-topic. He glanced over to Clarke, who was watching him, a soft smile on her face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to ramble.” Bellamy blushed.

Clarke laughed, “Don’t apologize, I think it’s cute.”

“ _Well, that makes one of us_.” Murphy mumbled.

“And I’m sure I’d talk your ear off about art if you gave me a chance.” Clarke added.

Bellamy shrugged.

“I’d like that.” He said, filter thrown off by Clarke’s casual remark that he was ‘cute’.

Clarke’s expression softened even more.

“Hey, Bellamy—” She began, suddenly not making eye contact, “I was thinking of getting a group together to play soccer sometime. And we could all grab something to eat after. Would you be interested?”

Bellamy stopped in his tracks, “Really?”

Clarke stopped as well, “Yeah, I’d definitely want you to be on my team. You used to play, right?”

“Yeah, and I’d love that.” He answered, grinning uncontrollably.

She beamed back. “Awesome! We haven’t picked a day yet, but if you gave me your number I could let you know when we decide?”

Bellamy’s hand instantly shot for his phone. Clarke was asking for HIS number?

They exchanged phones, typing in their numbers.

When he took back his phone, he saw that she put a paint pallet next to her contact name.

He had HER NUMBER!

And then, almost as if the dog was sensing Bellamy’s internal excitement, Picasso began barking loudly at a poodle across the street.

Clarke leaned down to get a solid grip on Picasso’s collar, to keep him from getting away. Picasso bucked against her hold, trying to get at the dog across the street.

“Picasso, Heel.” She ordered.

But the dog continued to bark and resist.

Bellamy crouched so that he was eye-level to Picasso.

“Calm.”

The dog met his eyes, limbs starting to settle.

Bellamy rubbed at Picasso’s ears, grinning.

“Good boy.”

Continuing to run his fingers through the now-calm Picasso’s fur, he turned to look up at Clarke. Only to find that she was much closer than expected.

She still had a hand wrapped around Picasso’s collar, but she was smiling at Bellamy. Her face was only inches from his, their arms almost touching. He didn’t dare move, afraid to break the moment. And she didn’t move either.

Her bright blue eyes searched his for a second before looking down at the serene Picasso.

“Wells mentioned you were good with animals.”

And just like that, at the mention of Wells, her BOYFRIEND, Bellamy’s heart sank. He stood suddenly and backed away, unable to handle being so close to her.

“That doesn’t sound like something Wells would say about me.”

Murphy’s voice piped up, “ _Wait, she knows Wondertwerp? Ask her if he dabbles in animal transformation_.”

Clarke’s smile dropped, no doubt confused by Bellamy’s sudden cold behavior.

“What does that mean?” She asked.

“ _Or ask her if he does witchcraft. Witchcraft would work too_.” Murphy suggested.

Bellamy shoved his hands in his pockets, wishing he was anywhere other than here.

“Just that I don’t think he’d say stuff like that about me.”

Murphy gasped, “ _Hey, is Wondertwerp the boyfriend you mentioned_?” He asked.

Clarke let go of Picasso’s collar to stand up as well, crossing her arms.

“You know what, I never understood why you and Wells were never friends, seeing how great you both are.”

Murphy whistled, “ _Wow, she really is Jaha’s girlfriend_.”

Clarke continued, “But now I’m starting to think it’s because you have something against him.”

“ _Dude, ouch_.” Murphy said.

Bellamy gritted his teeth, “We just never got along. He doesn’t really seem all that sincere to me.”

Clarke gaped at him.

“I think if you just tried to REALLY get to know him, you’d find that Wells is a genuinely nice person. Ever since we were little, Wells has always been—

Murphy began talking over her, “ _No wonder your panties are in a twist, you’re up against an actual superhero. I’d be upset too. I mean, just look at her, she practically idolizes him—_ ”

“Would you be quiet for a moment!” Bellamy snapped.

Everything was silent.

Murphy was completely quiet for once. Clarke stared at him wide-eyed.

And Bellamy was horrified.

“I’m so so sorry.” He immediately apologized, trying to find a way to explain that he wasn’t telling HER to shut up. “I didn't mean-“

“I’m sorry if I felt like I was pressuring you.” Clarke offered hesitantly.

“No!” Bellamy shook his head vehemently, “That wasn’t it at all. I just- I don’t have the greatest relationship with Wells and I don’t really react well to it. But that’s no excuse for being rude to you, you definitely didn't deserve that. You should never be treated like that, Clarke. I’m so sorry. I was being an idiot.”

Clarke bit her lip. They stood there quietly for a moment.

“Well, maybe you were a bit of an idiot.”

Bellamy nodded.

“The biggest idiot.”

She offered him the slightest hint of a smile.

At that, Bellamy continued, “I love talking to you, I hope you never think like I could feel otherwise.”

She shook her head, “I’m not going to stop talking to you. But maybe we’ll avoid talking about Wells for now?”

“That works for me.”

They began walking again.

“Fair warning, though. Wells is planning on joining us for Soccer when we finally get together.”

Bellamy fought the urge to grimace, trying to keep a straight face.

He shrugged, “It’ll be like getting the High School team back together.”

“That was a pretty good team.”

Bellamy turned to look at her, surprised, “You came to our games?”

She nodded, smiling.

“There’s no way!” Bellamy exclaimed, “I would remember seeing you there.”

“Yeah, I usually kept to the back, since it wasn't my school.” Then she jabbed him lightly in the ribs, “And you usually had a large amount of groupies, so they probably distracted you from the rest of us wallflowers.”

Bellamy’s face scrunched up, “Groupies? I think you’re thinking of Wells’ fan club.”

She laughed.

“Well, he certainly had a lot of them too, but you had a big following of girls, some guys too.”

Bellamy thought back, not remembering what Clarke was describing. He was never UNPOPULAR at school, but he certainly didn’t remember any fangirls. Not ones that didn’t belong to Wells.

“Anyways,” Clarke interrupted his retrospection, “This is my dad’s apartment. If you wait a minute, I’ll just duck inside and get Picasso settled. I’ll be right back out.”

Bellamy sent her a reassuring smile.

“Just take your time.”

She smiled back before disappearing into the apartment building with Picasso.

“ _Well, that was exciting_.”

Murphy’s voice was completely unrepentant.

Bellamy huffed, “You’re lucky if I don’t throw you off a building.”

“ _Yeah, but I was in shock, you didn’t tell me she was Wondertwerp’s girlfriend_.”

Bellamy sighed, “Does it really matter?”

“ _Yeah, she can help us investigate Jaha_.” Murphy drawled out, as if it was obvious, “ _That and, Dude, I get she’s hot and all that, but you should probably just drop her_.”

“Murphy.” Bellamy said, his voice a warning.

Murphy sighed, “ _I will castrate you if you ever claim I said this, but you’re a good looking guy, you shouldn’t be THAT desperate for dates_.”

“Meeting girls isn’t a problem. I date.” Bellamy protested.

“ _Then date someone else and give up on this chick. She’s already taken and she thinks Jaha’s hot stuff. There are plenty other fish in the sea to make out with and all that mumbo jumbo_.”

“Will you just shut it already?”

“ _I’m just trying to do you a favor. She’ll just keep jerking your chain around if you don't move on. If she’s really Wondertwerp’s girlfriend then she has horrible taste in guys and will probably never look at you twice anyways_.”

Some small part of Bellamy’s mind noticed that Murphy was complimenting him in some roundabout way, but the rest of him wanted to wring Murphy’s neck for insulting Clarke.

The apartment building’s door opened back up, revealing a smiling Clarke.

Bellamy smiled back, relieved that she didn’t seem to take his outburst towards Murphy personally.

“Let’s head out.”

They turned in the direction of Arkadia State campus and Bellamy asked Clarke about her Art classes.

And her eyes practically glowed as she described the projects she had worked on last semester.

Several minutes of conversation on paintings and drawings later, Murphy spoke up.

“ _Hey, see that guy, at 10 o’clock_?”

Bellamy glanced to the left, seeing a tall man in a dark blue hoodie. He was walking down the same sidewalk as them, headed toward campus.

“ _I think I remember seeing him the night I was transformed into miniature Godzilla_.” Murphy said.

Bellamy took a closer look at the guy. He didn’t seem especially suspicious.

“ _You know what, I totally remember his face_.” Murphy said, “ _Let’s follow him_.”

Bellamy glanced over at Clarke, overly aware of the fact that he couldn’t argue with Murphy in front of her.

“ _It’s not like she’ll know any better if he’s headed onto campus_.” Murphy claimed, “ _It’ll be way more productive than trying to find some imaginary classes_.”

Bellamy shook his head, exasperated, but couldn’t help agreeing with Murphy.

So, when Blue-Hoodie-Guy started walking towards West Campus, Bellamy steered them to follow.

——

Having stalked Blue-Hoodie across campus, Clarke and Bellamy found themselves crouched in the basement of the R. Lightbourne Science building, taking turns peeking through the window above them. Inside the next room was a bustling Lab that Bellamy was certain wasn’t up to University Code. Even though Clarke wasn’t privy to Murphy’s speculations, she had the presence of mind to not broadcast their location.

“Is that an iguana?” she asked incredulously.

Bellamy lifted his head to look where Clarke was nodding.

Behind the tables filled with vials and beakers of strong liquids was a cage with, sure enough, an exhausted-looking iguana. Bellamy felt a rush of anger run though him at the sight. He had to stop himself from running in there to throw open the cage, feeling drawn towards the suffering animal.

Clarke continued, “Pretty sure the college isn’t cool with chemical testing on animals, especially not on campus.”

“ _Even I’M not that messed up_.” Murphy’s voice murmured to Bellamy from the backpack.

“I’m certain the rest of the school has no idea about this. The whole operation feels less than legal.” Bellamy said for both his companions’ benefit.

Then Bellamy’s gaze caught on someone familiar. A man, probably in his thirties, well-dressed with an air of extreme-self-confidence about him.

“Hey, that’s Professor Wallace. My friend Monty was in one of his classes, said the guy was super strict.”

“A Professor of the college, that’s so not— Crap! He’s coming over! Duck!”

Clarke shoved Bellamy’s head down. They both fell to the ground, heart racing, shadows covering the light of the window.

“Is the second serum ready?” Professor Wallace’s voice demanded.

Bellamy suddenly heard Murphy’s voice mumble from the backpack, “ _Wait a second_ …”

A lab worker replied to the professor, “Our testing confirms so, but the serums effects are proving to be less debilitating than we intended. It’d make the subject difficult to subdue.”

“Is it going to make the subject sprout wings and fly away?” Professor Wallace drawled.

“No, but—“

“Then it’ll have to do.” The professor interrupted, “We’re running out of time. You can make up for your mistakes by hiring more guards. It’ll have to do.”

“ _That’s Professor Hazard_.” Murphy announced.

Bellamy’s breath caught in his throat. Did he really mean Professor Hazard? As in the Super-Villain, Professor Hazard? The kind of Super-Villain that was actually DEADLY as opposed to Murphy’s tricks?

“ _I’d recognize his voice anywhere, he’s like the personification of a weasel_!” Murphy exclaimed.

The professor’s shadow suddenly whirled in the light from the window.

“Did you hear something?” He demanded the lab worker.

The other man stammered, “Hear something? Like wh—“

“Send security to check the floor. Now.”

Bellamy swore under his breath.

Clarke tugged at his sleeve, eyes wide. They needed to get out of here. Bellamy crawled toward the stairwell, trying to stay out view from the window. Halfway there, he glanced back to check that Clarke was following behind. And he saw that the lab door behind her was starting to open.

He darted back, grabbed Clarke and physically dragged her with him into the dark space between two nearby Vending Machines.

The space was tiny and they were both practically on top of each other, but Bellamy was pretty certain they were hidden from plain view. He was just mad that the closest he’s ever been to Clarke had to be because they were hiding from a Professor Hazard’s Henchmen.

By the way, why didn’t anyone ever consider that Professor Hazard could be an actual professor?

Voices echoed through the hall next to them.

“The Professor thought he heard someone outside the lab.”

Peering out of the space between the Vending Machines, Bellamy could see three guards pass by, making their way between Bellamy and Clarke and the stairs out. And all of them were armed with batons.

“He wants us to check the whole floor?” The shortest of the guards asked.

“I’m sure it’d be fine if we just checked the stairs. Quicker that way.”

Bellamy let out a silent sigh.

“ _I’m guessing this means that Professor Hazard is the one that transformed me then_.” Murphy murmured.

Bellamy realized that Murphy was probably right. Especially when considering what the Professor said about subjects sprouting wings.

Clarke leaned closer to Bellamy.

“If we can slip away, do you think maybe there’s stairs on the other side of the floor?” she asked, the sensation of her breath against his ear giving Bellamy chills.

“Maybe, but we might cornered back there if not.”

Murphy spoke up, “ _You guys better decide on SOMETHING, because this is taking forever_.”

Clarke tilted her head, brows furrowed.

“Is it just me or do you hear a squeaking noise?” Clarke asked in a hushed voice.

Bellamy froze, realizing just WHO Clarke was hearing.

In fact, Murphy was probably the reason Wallace caught onto them earlier too.

“I hope not, because that means other people can hear it too.” Bellamy whispered back, the last words directed angrily at Murphy, hoping he got the message to SHUT UP.

“ _I do not SQUEAK_.” Murphy said incredulously before finally being quiet.

“So, do we wait and try to find an opportunity to sneak past?” Clarke murmured.

Bellamy nodded, “That might be best, they don’t actually know we’re here yet, maybe they’ll head back to the lab soon?”

Clarke bit her lip nervously, “Maybe—“

“Dax.” One of guards called to another. “Go check the machines. Emerson and I’ll check out the stairwell.”

Bellamy swore softly.

“He’s coming over, isn’t he?” Clarke asked.

Bellamy nodded.

She hesitated a second.

“Do you think we could knock him out without the others noticing?”

“No.” Bellamy whispered, “I think we’re going to have to run.”

“Ok.” Clarke replied, voice breaking slightly, “On three?”

“On three.”

Clarke took a deep breath.  
“One.”

Bellamy’s heart started racing faster in anticipation.

“Two.”

Clarke tensed beside him.

“Three.”

They burst from between the Vending Machines, instantly turning to sprint away from the stairwell and the guards.

“Hey! Stop them!”

Hearing the guards running after them, Bellamy pushed himself to run faster.

Clarke was already starting to pant from the exertion.

Bellamy was searching the hall as they raced past, for more stairs, for—

There was an elevator.

Clarke grabbed at Bellamy’s arm, “The elevator’s at the basement. Look.”

Sure enough, the number above the elevator doors showed that it was already on the same level as them. Bellamy rushed forward, hitting the up button.

As the doors opened, Clarke hurried into the open elevator.

Turning around, she sent Bellamy an exasperated look, “Bellamy, come on!”

The sounds of the guards pursuing them echoed down the hall. There was no way they wouldn’t notice what floor the elevator ended up on if the two of them disappeared.

He reached in and hit the close doors button and stepped back.

“Bellamy?”

“Get somewhere safe.” He simply said.

Clarke’s face went pale, her wide eyes fixed on him. And the doors closed, taking Clarke away.

Murphy swore.

“ _What are you doing, you bonehead_?!”

“We’re giving Clarke a chance to get out.”

“ _Yeah, but what about us_?!” Murphy yelled.

Bellamy started to continue running down the hall.

It only took a few second for Murphy to say, “ _Dude, I can see them, they’re gaining_.”

Despite the burning sensation in his legs, Bellamy pumped his legs harder.

“Can you go any faster?”

Bellamy wished he enough breath to spare for a comeback like ‘if I didn’t have to haul you around’, but could only manage a strained, “No.”

“ _Yeah, I'm calling it. We’re getting caught_.”

They reached the end of the hall and Bellamy frantically searched the open atrium for a way out.

“ _Hey, I pulled up a blueprint of the building_.” Murphy said.

Bellamy almost asked ‘How?’, before remembering the ‘computer’ Murphy claimed to have installed in Bellamy’s old backpack.

“Head left.” Murphy commanded.

Bellamy obeyed, veering to the left, thankfully finding a stairwell within seconds.

He sprinted up, taking the steps two at a time.

“ _At the top of the stairs, there’s a door leading out back behind the building, take it_.”

Bellamy grabbed a hold of the door handle at the top of the steps, and yanking it open. He lurched into an alleyway, bare of everything except litter, suspicious stains and a couple dumpsters.

“ _To the right! To the right! Go now_!”

But almost immediately after Bellamy started down the alley, a hand grabbed him by the arm. With the fingers gripping his arm so tight he could already feel his skin bruising, his pursuer yanked Bellamy backwards.

He landed heavily on the ground, on top of the backpack.

Murphy swore.

“ _ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? YOU’RE LIKE 50 TIMES HEAVIER THAN ME_!”

Bellamy’s pursuer, the guard he remembered was called Emerson, leaned down into Bellamy’s space.

“Got you.” He panted, smirking.

Bellamy tried to kick out at the guard, but Emerson avoided it and whipped out his baton. Bellamy gasped when the baton made contact painfully with his stomach.

The other two guards approached wearily as Emerson put weight on Bellamy’s lower legs, pinning him.

“Wasn’t there a girl?” One of them asked.

Emerson grabbed Bellamy by the shirt and pulled his torso slightly up.

“Yeah, where’d the girl go?”

Emerson’s eyes gleamed as he stared Bellamy down, with an almost maniacal edge to his expression.

Bellamy swallowed, breathing still uneven from all the running. There was no way he was saying anything about Clarke. He considered his options, trying to find a way to talk himself out of this situation.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I’m just a student here. I’m not—“

Emerson shoved him back down onto the ground, hard.

“Don’t play stupid boy. We know there was a girl with you. Now tell us where she went and we promise we’ll tell our boss to go easy on you.”

The other two guards came to stand behind Emerson, batons ready at hand.

“ _Ok, we’re getting out of here_.” Murphy said from the smushed backpack.

What did THAT mean?

“ _Bellamy. On three, I’m going to need you to roll over so the backpack’s facing up_.”

Emerson glanced back at the other two guards, “Hey, do you hear squeaking?”

“ _One_.”

Both guards nodded warily, glancing around the alley.

“ _Two_.”

Emerson turned back to Bellamy, eyes dropping to the backpack below him.

“ _Three_.”

With all his strength, Bellamy spun onto his front, wrenching his feet out from under Emerson’s weight.

Then a whirring sound came from the backpack and a liquid sprayed into the air. And instantly, the guards starting yelling and screaming.

Bellamy turned his head to see what was going on. Only to see the guards running away, limping.

One of them was yelling at the others, “What was that?!”

He stood up, muscles trembling, as he watched the three men disappear around the corner.

“What did you do to them?” He asked.

Murphy darted out of the back pack, gliding to the floor of the alley. He folded his arms, smirking, glancing to where the guards had disappeared with a smirk.

“I programmed the computer to target sensitive spots of the human body. And then I shot them with a combination of stink spray and some rubber projectiles I made last night.” Murphy explained, still grinning as he kicked at one of the many neon balls of rubber on the ground.

Bellamy sniffed and then groaned, covering his nose. He finally got a whiff of the stink spray.

“Dude, that’s NASTY.”

Murphy cackled.

“It’s worse when it’s sprayed directly up your nose.”

Bellamy looked back down at the rubber balls, each the size of a marble. He stared at the bright neon Yellow color for a moment.

“Wait a second. Do you use my sister’s lacrosse balls to make these?”

Murphy shrugged.

“I didn’t know whose they were.”

Bellamy glared at him.

“My sister’s going to kill me.”

“You mean pigtails? I’m not that worried.”

Bellamy shook his head.

“Yeah, you don’t know Octavia. I’m dead meat.”

Murphy hesitated, expression thoughtful.

“We’ll buy her more?” He suggested. “And anyways, you’re forgetting the more important thing, which is the fact that I SAVED us. And did you see their faces? The shortie looked so freaked out! It’s like he saw my grandma coming for him.”

Bellamy scrunched his nose, “Grandma?!”

“Yeah, nothing is scarier than a vengeful grandma.”

Bellamy sat down, his legs feeling weak, and started to chuckle.

“Are you speaking from personal experience?”

“You can’t know true fear until your grandma has come after you with a rake.”

Bellamy was now on his back, wheezing. Murphy squinted as he stared at Bellamy on the ground.

“Dude, you dying or something? They didn’t knife you or anything?”

Bellamy waved him off, “Who knew super-villains were scared of their grandmas?”

Murphy grinned, “Hey, you’ve never seen mine, she had a glare that could make you pee your pants.”

Bellamy let out a guffaw.

“What did you do to deserve that?”

Murphy snorted, toothy grin on full display, “Accidentally set her cat on fire.”

“What?! How do you even do that? Was the cat okay?”

“Relax, the cat was fine, just had to regrow some hair.” Murphy sat down next to him, “But it turns out dentures explode in the microwave.”

Bellamy burst out laughing, shaking his head in astonishment. “I can’t believe this is my life right now.”

Then Bellamy paused for a second before speaking again.

“Hey, Murphy?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for helping out.” He said, knowing full well that Murphy could’ve ditched him at any point.

“Bah! I stick up for my sidekicks.”

Bellamy’s eyebrows rose, unsure if he should feel flattered or insulted.

Then his smile disappeared, suddenly realizing he had no idea if Clarke was okay.

“Do you see where Clarke disappeared to?”

Murphy grimaced.

“Ah, no, I didn’t.”

Bellamy ran a hand through his hair nervously, unsure what to do.

“As much as I don’t like complimenting Jaha’s girlfriend, I’d still say she seems like one of the more competent people I’ve met.”

Bellamy nodded, but was still worried.

Murphy’s little elbow poked Bellamy in the shoulder.

“And anyways, you’ve got her number now, so you can bother her yourself, remember?”

Bellamy’s eyes widened, and then he shot up, hand scrambling for his phone.

Murphy chuckled, murmuring, “How predictable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the whole two conversations at once with both Clarke and Murphy was confusing. I italicized Murphy's dialogue when he's in the backpack, so maybe that might help.
> 
> And let me know what you think! Comments are always appreciated!


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